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How to make Urad Dal Flour in Home

October 22, 2016 By Sharmila Kingsly Leave a Comment

Urad Dal flour is required to prepare many Indian snacks .As Diwali is near in every house they prepare lots of sweets and snacks prepared to distribute to friend and family.Now let’s see how to prepare urad dal flour.

How to make Urad Dal Flour in Home

Recipe Cuisine: Indian | Recipe Category : Basis
Prep Time: 10 mins | Cook Time : 10 mins |Author :Sharmila

Ingredients

Urad Dal – 1 cup

Method:

1. In a pan dry roast the urad dal in medium flame. Roast till a nice aroma comes and the colour changes to a light golden brown, Switch off the flame and allow it to cool down completely.

2. Once it is completely cooled collect them to a blender and grind it to a fine powder .Sieve it and collect the big pieces.

3. Grind the coarse pieces once again and sieve completely such that there is no lumps remaining. Store it in an air tight container.

Notes:

Carry out the entire process in a medium flame.
If you are preparing in a larger quantity the flour can be ground in a mill.
Urad Dal flour is used in many Indian Snacks. Especially in the festival seasons it will be there in every households.
Before using in any snack preparation roast the urad dal flour once again in medium flame till a nice aroma comes.

Crispy Vazhaipoo Vadai

October 17, 2016 By Sharmila Kingsly Leave a Comment

Vazhaipoo vadai is a crispy evening snack. Banana flowers are added to make these fritters. They have a unique taste which makes them special. It has so many health benefits too. Enjoy your evening with this vada and a cup of chai.

Banana flowers fritters /Vazhaipoo vadai is my favourite snack .Just love to have it with a cup of Adrak chai. In fact the banana flowers added give this vadai a unique taste. It has so many health benefits too. Enjoy your evening with this vadai and a cup of chai.

In fact cleaning banana flower is bit time consuming so it is better to clean it and refrigerate when we get time.

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Why You will love this Recipe ?

Easy Snack - They are easy to make snack. Even beginner's can cook the fritters perfectly.

Pantry Staples - Made with the basic pantry staples.

Health Benefits - Vazhaipoo or Banana flower has plenty of health benefits. They are also rich in fiber and other minerals.

Party appetizer - Perfect to serve during parties or potlucks or any functions. Goes well as a evening snack too with some hot tea and chutney.

Ingredients

Banana Flower - This is the main ingredient. We have to carefully clean the banana flower and chop as needed. Better to use it immediately. If not soak the chopped flowers in buttermilk to prevent blackening. Refer this tutorial for detailed steps on how to clean banana flowers.

Channa Dal - In India most of the fritters will have soaked channa dal. It gives a rich protein kick and adds volume to the vadai.

Rice Flour - This helps in binding and make sure the fritters holds its shape.

Onions and Cilantro - Finely added cilantro and chopped onions adds a lovely flavor to vadai.

Oil - We deep fry the fritters in oil. We can use any oil of our choice. My preference is groundnut oil.

The fritters has few other basic flavoring ingredients. Please refer the Recipe card for a detailed ingredients list along with the measurements.

How to make Vazhaipoo Vadai

1. In a bowl add channa dal and soak in water for at least 2 hours. After soaking the dal drain the excess water and add the soaked channa dal to a blender.

Soak Channa Dal for 4 hours and after soaking drain water and add dal to a blender.

2.Along with the channa dal add dry red chilli and fennel seeds. Now coarsely pulse everything once.

Add Dry red chilli and fennel seeds along with channa dal.

3.Clean the banana flowers and chop roughly. Add the chopped banana flowers to the blender along with the pulsed channa dal. once again pulse everything coarsely. Make sure not to blend to a fine paste.

add chopped banana flowers to a blender.

4. Blend everything into a coarse mixture. I usually keep 1 or 2 tbsp of soaked channa dal without adding it to the blender and then as a whole while shaping the vada. This gives a beautiful texture to the vadai.

5. Now transfer everything to a mixing bowl. Also, add finely chopped onions, coriander leaves curry leaves, rice flour, and the required salt.

Transfer pulsed dal to a blender and add chopped onion, rice flour and other seasonings.

6. Combine everything and start shaping the vadai. If you feel the mixture is loose and not able to shape properly add another tbsp of rice flour. Shape the vadai and keep it in the freezer for 10 mins. This helps in keeping the vadai firm without breaking as you fry.

7. Heat a pan with oil for deep frying. I usually prefer ground oil for frying. You can also use sunflower oil or coconut oil. Once the oil is hot drop the shaped vadai. Make sure not to overcrowd the pan while frying.

8. Fry the vadai in medium flame for 3-4 mins on both sides. Once the vadai is crispy, golden, and cooked on all sides. Remove the vadai from the pan. Remove the excess oil with paper towels and serve hot.

Remove the vada from oil once its cooked.

Crispy and Perfect vazhaipoo vadai is now ready.

Expert Tips

Make sure you soak the channa dal 2-3 hours before preparing the fritters.

Always drain the water completely from the dal before adding them to the blender.

If not drained properly the water content will prevent the fritters from holding its shape. These fritters will easily dis-integrate of dropped in hot oil for frying.

You may also add finely chopped green chilies if you prefer a spicier vada.

Make sure to not shape the vadai not too thick or thick. If the fritters are too thick the inside portions may not get cooked. If they are too thin , it may resemble thin papad.

We can also store the shaped vadai in the freezer for at least 30 mins. This helps in holding the vada firm.

Storing Options

I recommend storing the uncooked shaped vada in freezer. Do not recommend storing the cooked vada. Cooked vada looses its crispiness if not served immediately.

Instead we can store the shaped vada in freezer for up to 2 weeks. We can fry thaw them for few mins before frying and then fry as needed.

Serving Suggestions

Serve hot with some coconut chutney and Masala Chai.

FAQ's

Can we make vazhaipoo vadai without dal ?

Yes there is another version to this vazhaipoo vadai , where they do not use any dal. The channa dal here is replaced with grated coconut along with potukadalai or fried gram. If you have not soaked the dal and make the vadai instantly you can very well try this version.

How to preserve banana flowers for preparing vadai ?

The thing with the banana flowers is that they get blackened easily it left for something after chopping them. They have to be used immediately for cooking. Banana flowers are rich in iron and hence they gets oxidized quickly and blackened. To prevent the blackening we should use them immediately or soak them in buttermilk or vinegar solution.

Can we make vazhaipoo vadai in air fryer ?

If you do not want to deep fry the vadai. We can definitely use air fryer for cooking the vadai. After shaping the fritters freeze them for 30 mins . Preheat the air fryer at 356 F/ 180 C for 5 mins and air fry at 356 F / 180 C for 12 mins. Make sure you flip them halfway and brush with oil as needed. Also make sure you consume the air fried vadai's immediately. Else they will lose the crispiness.

How to clean the banana flowers for vazhaipoo vadai ?

Remove the outer thick cover and take the banana flower. Each single flower has to be cleaned individually. Remove the transparent layer on top of the flower and also remove the single single bud. Refer this post for detailed steps on how to clean vazhaipoo. We can either chop and add the banana flowers for vadai or grind and add,. Tastes good either way.

More Fritters Recipes

★ Did you enjoy this recipe? If you happen to try it out, I would love to hear from you! I’d appreciate it if you could rate and leave a review below in the comments. Your reviews help others know the recipe better too. Thanks for your time. You can also follow me on Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, Youtube and Twitter for more updates

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Disclaimer: I am not a nutritionist , the nutrition value provided here is an estimate. It will vary based on the quantity and brands of the products used.

Note: This post is originally from 2016. I have now updated it with a new Recipe card, Pictures, and video.

How to clean Banana Flower

October 16, 2016 By Sharmila Kingsly Leave a Comment

Banana flowers are loaded with fibre, protein, potassium, calcium, copper, phosphorus, iron, magnesium and Vitamin E. The flowers can be cooked in a numerous ways. It can be used in Salads, Soups, curry, Gravy and many more. However when it comes to cleaning the flower it is pretty time consuming, we will have to sit patiently and clean it J So today let me take you through how to clean banana flowers with step by step pictorial representation.

How to clean banana flower

Recipe Cuisine: Indian | Recipe Category : Kitchen Basis
Prep Time: 30 mins |Author :Sharmila

Ingredients

Banana Flower – 1

Gingelly oil – to grease hands

Water – 2 cups

Butter milk – 1 cup

Method:

1. Spread a mat or use a newspaper as the banana might cause stains and grease your hands with oil before you start to clean in order to avoid blackening in the hands, Take a Banana flower and remove the Petals. Inside each petal there will be the edible florets collect everything .Continue to do this by removing all the banana petals.

2. Take one floret and as shown in the image remove the transparent skin and the long part with a bud in the top and save the remaining .continue this process and collect the edible part.

3. If you are not going to cook the same day then you can save the edible part in a zip lock bag and refrigerate otherwise in a large bowl add in 2 cups of water and 1 cup of butter milk and whisk well.

4. Chop the edible part of the banana flower finely and keep them immersed in the buttermilk keep it refrigerated and use it when needed this avoids blackening of the flower.

Notes:

Always use a newspaper while cleaning the banana flower to prevent from banana stains.
Grease your hands with oil to avoid the blackening in hands.
Never keep the Banana flower in Fridge for more than 3 days as it might tend to get bitter.
Always use fresh banana flower in cooking.
While selecting banana flower in shop also if it is too much dark on the edges avoid buying that as it is old and will be bitter. It is my personal experience.
Soaking the chopped flowers in butter milk allow it to stay fresh.
You can clean the Banana flower the previous night and use it for cooking in the next day.
While cleaning the banana flower the innermost part will be while bulb/cone alike part, you can consume it raw as it has high medicinal values and good for stomach.

Fish Fry in Oven ( Baked Fish Crisp )

September 20, 2016 By Sharmila Kingsly Leave a Comment

Fish fry is an awesome appetizer which is loved by all the sea food eaters. But at point everyone will have a gut feeling that is deep fried and we tend to restrict ourselves in spite of our taste buds inducing to taste even more. One healthy or tasty alternative is to do that in the oven

With very minimal oil or almost negligible amount of oil added we can get the taste and crispness of the fish fry made in oven. So what is stopping you.. Give a try

Similar Recipes:

Vanjaram Fry

Grilled Fish Recipe

Method:

1. Clean the fish and in a large vessel add in the ingredients mentioned in the “To Marinate” table and make a fine paste and add the fish to it and mix well. Allow it to marinate for half an hour. Meanwhile line your baking tray with Parchment paper. Preheat the oven at 180 Deg c for about 10 mins. Arranged the marinated fish pieces in the lined baking tray and using grill mode grill it for 7 mins.

2. After 7 mins flip the fish and then grill for another 7 mins. Now that the colour of the fish would have slightly turned dark. Flip the side of the fish once again and brush it with oil if required. And grill for another 5 mins.

3. Once done flip the fish once gain and brush with little oil or sprinkle little oil and grill for another 5 mins. Fish would have cooked by now and it is ready to be served. If you feel the fish is not yet cooked grill for another 4 mins by flipping the fish sides after 2 mins. Serve hot as an appetizer/starter.

Notes:

Baking time may vary from oven to oven so keep a check.
If you require to add more oil you can brush with more oil.
Serve as a started or just like that as a snack.

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Fish fry in oven

Fish fry in oven is an awesome appetizer which is loved by all the sea food eaters. It is so guiltfree when baked in oven .

Prep Time10

Bake Time30

Total Time40

Course: Appetizer

Cuisine: Indian

Servings:

Calories: 126kcal

Author: Sharmila Kingsly

Standard 1 cup measures 240 ml

Ingredients

▢ 500 gm Fish
▢ 1 tsp Oil optional

Instructions

Clean the fish and in a large vessel add in the ingredients mentioned in the “To Marinate” table and make a fine paste and add the fish to it and mix well. Allow it to marinate for half an hour. Meanwhile line your baking tray with Parchment paper. Preheat the oven at 180 Deg c for about 10 mins. Arranged the marinated fish pieces in the lined baking tray and using grill mode grill it for 7 mins.
After 7 mins flip the fish and then grill for another 7 mins. Now that the colour of the fish would have slightly turned dark. Flip the side of the fish once again and brush it with oil if required. And grill for another 5 mins.
Once done flip the fish once gain and brush with little oil or sprinkle little oil and grill for another 5 mins. Fish would have cooked by now and it is ready to be served. If you feel the fish is not yet cooked grill for another 4 mins by flipping the fish sides after 2 mins. Serve hot as an appetizer/starter.

Notes

Baking time may vary from oven to oven so keep a check.
If you require to add more oil you can brush with more oil.
Serve as a started or just like that as a snack.

Nutrition

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Beans Mezhukkupuratti

September 13, 2016 By Sharmila Kingsly Leave a Comment

Beans Mezhukkupuratti is one of the tastiest dish prepared during the Onam Sadhya. It's usually prepared with vegetables like kaya ,Yam.

Mezhukkupuratti is one of the tastiest dish from the Kerala Cuisine prepared during the Onam Sadhya. It can be prepared with many vegetables like Raw Banana (Kaya), Yam (Chena), Carrot, Potato. Today I have prepared with Beans.

It is such an easy recipe and anybody especially bachelors and working women can cook it easily on a busy working day. If we have the chopped veggies ready it can be prepared in around 10 mins times.

Ingredients

beans mezhukkupuratti spread over for display.

How to make Beans Mezhukkupuratti

1.Wash the Beans well and chop them into small pieces. Take a pan and add coconut oil. Once it's hot add mustard seeds let it splutter and then add curry leaves. Saute for a few seconds.

In a cooking pot add coconut oil and temper with mustard and curry leaves.

2. Next, add the chopped beans. Combine everything once. Add a little water and cook the beans in a medium flame.

Add Chopped beans and cook in a medium flame

3. While the beans are cooking let's prepare the spice paste. In a blender, add small onions, garlic, dry red chili, and turmeric powder.

Add Small onions, Garlic, dry red chili and turmeric powder to a blender.

4. Grind everything to a coarse paste.

Grind ingredients in blender to a coarse paste.

5. When the beans are almost cooked. Add the required salt and give a good mix.

When the beans is almost cooked add required Salt.

6. Finally, add the ground paste and combine well. Cook for another two minutes and switch off the flame.

Finally add ground spice paste , combine and cook for 2 minutes.

7. Beans mezhukkupuratti is now ready.

Kerala Style Beans mezhukkupuratti is now ready.

Top Tips

Do not skip adding coconut oil, it is a must for this recipe.
It is usually served in the Onam Sadhaya.
Mezhukkupuratti be prepared with Raw Banana, Potato or Yam.
Do not overcook the beans.
I used Indian Beans variety, French beans can also be used.

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Vegetable Kheer | Vegetable Payasam

September 12, 2016 By Sharmila Kingsly Leave a Comment

Vegetable Kheer is an interesting kheer prepared with vegetables like beans, carrot, and Potato. It is slow cooked in milk, flavored with saffron

Follow us on Pinterest for delicious pins. Join our Facebook group for more Instant Pot and Air Fryer recipes.

We are in the festival season now and hence starting this season with an interesting Kheer recipe.

Usually, we don't add vegetables in kheer, It is either rice, lentils, fruits, or nuts. So this is different and you can definitely give this a shot.

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Ingredients

Milk - My top recommendation for preparing kheer is always a full cream milk. It is the base ingredient and it has to be creamier. Only full-fat milk does justice.y

Sugar - Add granulated sugar or condensed milk as you prefer for the kheer.

Vegetables - Use beans, carrots, Potato. Chop all the vegetables into even-sized and smaller pieces for even cooking of the vegetables.

Saffron - Adds richness and a light golden tint to the kheer.

Cardamom powder - Cardamom flavor goes really well to the kheer. You can also skip cardamom and add rose water if you prefer rose-flavored kheer.

Nuts - Gives a lovely bite to the kheer.

FAQ's

What does Kheer mean?

The word kheer is derived from the Sanskrit word kshira meaning milk. Kheer is type of Indian sweet Pudding. It its traditionally made with milk , rice and sugar.

What are the main ingredients on kheer ?

The main ingredients in this vegetable kheer is full fat milk and vegetables along with a sweetener.

Can we make vegetable kheer vegan ?

We have the ingredients that are not vegan in vegetable kheer recipe. You can simply replace full fat milk with any vegan milk and skip adding khoya for a vegan kheer.
kheer with coconut milk is also a yummy alternate for Dairy. It tastes so good with coconut milk.

How to make Vegetable Kheer

Chop Carrots, Beans, and potatoes into very small cubes. In a saucepan add Water.

Next add milk and let it boil.

Next add the chopped vegetables. Make sure to chop the vegetables smaller and in even size. So it gets cooked uniformly.

The vegetables will get cooked in the milk and it will take some time hence we are adding water as well.

Next, add the chopped Vegetables in milk give it a quick start, and let it cook. Add a silver coin to the saucepan it will prevent the milk from overflowing. Keep on stirring at regular intervals to avoid getting burnt and scrape the malai (milk solids )from the edges too.

Once the veggies are cooked add sugar.

Also, add Cardamom powder and saffron milk.

Next, add unsweetened or grated khoya.

Combine everything and cook for another 2 minutes. Keep on stirring to ensure all the ingredients are evenly mixed. Now the milk would have become slightly thick. Switch off at this stage.

Garnish with sliced Almonds and Pistachios. Vegetable Kheer is ready

Tips & Variations

I have used unsweetened Khoya for this recipe. If using sweetened khoya adjust the sugar level accordingly.
Khoya or Mawa adds richness to the kheer. If you have no access to khoya you can add ¼ cup reduced milk or condensed milk instead.
You can also add cauliflower to the kheer along with the other vegetables.
Make sure you blanch the cauliflower in hot water and dissect or chop it into small-sized pieces like other vegetables.
You can also double or triple the same recipe if preparing for a larger group.

Serving Options

Kheer makes an perfect dessert after a hearty meal. It goes when when served hot or cold.

You can also make them for any festivals or potlucks

Storage Options

You can store the vegetable kheer in an air tight container for up to 3 days in the fridge.

Do not suggest freezing as it has milk.

Similar Recipes

★ Did you enjoy this recipe? If you happen to try it out, I would love to hear from you! I’d appreciate it if you could rate and leave a review below in the comments. Your reviews help others know the recipe better too. Thanks for your time. You can also follow me on Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, Youtube and Twitter for more updates

📖 Recipe

Disclaimer: I am not a nutritionist, the nutrition value provided here is an estimate. It will vary based on the quantity and brands of the products used.

Note: This post is originally from 2016. I have updated it with a new Recipe card, Pictures, and video now.

Sambaram(Spiced Butter Milk )

September 11, 2016 By Sharmila Kingsly Leave a Comment

Sambaram | Pacha Moru with step by step pictures. Sambaram is a famous drink from Kerala. It is not only served during Onam Sadhya but also can be had in the hot summer. It is otherwise called Spiced Buttermilk or Pacha Moru. This drink is a must in the Onam Sadhya. After a heavy meal this is usually had for a good digestion.

Ingredients:

How to Prepare Sambaram

1.In a large bowl take the thick curd and add in the water, Whisk it well such that the water and curd mix together and forms a buttermilk consistency.

2.In a Mortar and Pestle add the chopped Green Chilli, Shallots, and Ginger. Crush everything lightly.

3.Now add the crushed green chili, ginger, and shallots to the buttermilk. Whisk and add in chopped curry leave and Salt

4.Whisk everything once again and now it is ready to serve along with the Grand Onam Sadhya.

Tips:

The Ginger and Green Chilli can be added to curd without crushing also.
However crushing bring out the whole flavor of it.
We can also sieve the Sambaram and serve the flavor will still be retained.
Serve as an after meal drink in the Onam Sadhya for a good digestion.

Similar Recipes:

Ragi Buttermilk ( Ragi Ambli )

★ Did you enjoy this recipe? If you happen to try it out, I would love to hear from you! I’d appreciate it if you could rate and leave a review below in the comments. Your reviews help others know the recipe better too. Thanks for your time ? You can also follow me on Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, Youtube and Twitter for more updates from me.

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5 from 1 vote

Sambaram | Pacha Moru

Sambaram or Pacha Moru is the spiced buttermilk. Sambaram is a famous drink from Kerala. It is mainly served during Onam Sadhya

Prep Time10

Cook Time0

Total Time10

Course: Drinks

Cuisine: Kerala

Servings:

Calories: 62kcal

Author: Sharmila Kingsly

Standard 1 cup measures 240 ml